To deliver increasingly compact I/O solutions for manufacturers and machine builders, Beckhoff has expanded its Bus Terminal I/O system with the new, ultra-compact HD Bus Terminals. These space-saving 'High Density' Bus Terminals feature 16 digital I/O channels in the housing of a 12 mm electronic terminal block. Using Beckhoff Bus Couplers or DIN rail-mounted controllers, the HD Terminals are compatible with almost every major fieldbus. HD Terminals are available in both Beckhoff Bus Terminal and EtherCAT Terminal versions.

Over the last few years, a consistent increase in the efficiency of electronics has reduced power dissipation to the extent that doubled packing density of I/O points is possible today. This results in multiple cost advantages: space requirements in control cabinets can be reduced and the price per I/O channel drops significantly.

The compact 16-channel Bus Terminals offer new possibilities for project planning: Miniaturization in the field of control technology allows designers to build their machines and systems to be even smaller and more compact. The HD Bus Terminals with 16 connection points have identical external dimensions to existing Beckhoff Bus Terminals and are compatible with them. The flexible HD Bus Terminals are available in different versions, e.g. as 16-channel terminals for digital inputs or outputs, as 8-channel terminals for digital inputs or outputs with 2-wire connection or as combination terminals with eight digital inputs and eight digital outputs.

Despite higher channel density, wiring efforts are simplified because of tool-less assembly. The single wire conductors are connected without tools using the direct plug-in technique, i.e. the cable is simply plugged into the contact point. The cables are released as usual, using the contact release with the aid of an appropriately sized screwdriver.